WO2020177130A1

WO2020177130A1 - Atomizing assembly and fabriation method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2020177130A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/077361
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王成; 黄惠华; 郭美玲; 周波
Original assignee: 昂纳自动化技术（深圳）有限公司
Priority date: 2019-03-07
Filing date: 2019-03-07
Publication date: 2020-09-10

Abstract

An atomizing assembly and a fabrication method therefor, the atomizing assembly (10) comprising a porous matrix (11) for liquid guide and a heating element (12). The heating element (12) comprises a first surface and a second surface which are opposite to each other, and is arranged on the porous matrix (11) in a way so that the first surface thereof is in contact with the porous matrix (11). The heating element (12) is configured as a sheet structure and attached to the porous matrix (11), and the two are in tight and sufficient contact, thus avoiding the occurrence of easy springback, dry burning and the other problems of heating wires. With the arrangement of the sheet structure of the heating element (12) and the cooperation mode between the heating element (12) and the porous matrix (11), automatic batch production is achieved, the consistency and production efficiency of the atomizing assembly are improved, and the cost is reduced.

Description

Atomization component and manufacturing method thereof

Technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, and in particular to an atomizing component for electronic cigarettes and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background technique

There are two types of ceramic atomization components for electronic cigarettes. One is the atomization component in which the spiral heating wire is embedded in the porous ceramic. The atomization component uses porous ceramic as the conductive liquid and the spiral heating wire as the heating element. , Its production steps are as follows:

1. Prepare the ceramic slurry and form the spiral heating wire ceramic blank into the mold;

2. Fill the ceramic slurry into the ceramic blank forming mold and wait for the ceramic slurry to be fixed and formed;

3. Bake at low temperature to remove volatiles and take out the ceramic green body with heating wire;

4. High temperature sintering at 400℃-1600℃ to form ceramic atomized components.

The above manufacturing process has the following disadvantages:

1. The size consistency of ceramic atomization components is poor, and the strength of atomization components is low;

2. Need to put the spiral heating wire into the mold one by one, which has low production efficiency and high cost;

3. Because it is necessary to ensure that the heating wire maintains a spiral shape, the diameter of the heating wire cannot be too small (requires to maintain a certain strength); therefore, this process cannot be used to make ceramic atomization components with high resistance.

Another type of ceramic atomization component is to insert a porous ceramic rod between the spiral heating wire as the atomization component, wherein the porous ceramic is used as the oil-conducting material to guide the smoke liquid to the surface of the heating wire. Disadvantages: it is difficult to achieve close contact between the heating wire and the ceramic rod, the heating wire is easy to rebound, resulting in a gap between the heating wire and the ceramic rod, and the heating wire is dry burning.

technical problem

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an improved atomization assembly and a manufacturing method thereof in view of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art.

Technical solutions

The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is to provide an atomization assembly for electronic cigarettes, the atomization assembly including a porous substrate for liquid guiding and a heating element;

The heating element includes a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, and the heating element is arranged on the porous substrate with its first surface in contact with the porous substrate.

Preferably, the heating element is fixed on the surface of the porous substrate; or, the heating element is partially or completely embedded in the surface of the porous substrate.

Preferably, the porous matrix is porous ceramic or foamed metal.

Preferably, the heating element is a metal sheet or metal mesh.

Preferably, the metal sheet or metal mesh is made of stainless steel, nickel, titanium, nickel-chromium alloy or aluminum.

Preferably, the heating element is a carbon sheet.

Preferably, the heating element is provided with a conductor for electrical connection with the electronic cigarette power supply device.

The present invention also provides a manufacturing method of the above-mentioned atomization assembly, including the following steps:

S1. Set the heating element strip with multiple heating elements on the base green body;

The heating element material belt includes an outer frame and heating elements connected in the outer frame at intervals by connecting straps;

S2. Remove the outer frame and the connecting belt of the heating element strip, so that a plurality of the heating elements are independent on the base green body;

S3, sintering to make holes, so that the green base body forms a porous body;

S4. Cut the porous body into a plurality of independent porous substrates corresponding to the heating body, and each of the porous substrates and the heating body on it form an atomization assembly.

Preferably, in step S3, the sintering temperature is 300°C-1600°C.

Preferably, the manufacturing method further includes the following steps:

Before step S1, process the heating element to form a heating element strip; and/or,

Before step S3, a conductor is provided on each of the heating elements.

Beneficial effect

In the atomizing assembly of the present invention, the heating element is arranged in a sheet-like structure and attached to the porous substrate, and the two are in close and full contact, so as to avoid problems such as easy springback of the heating wire and dry burning.

In addition, the arrangement of the sheet-like structure of the heating element and the way of matching with the porous substrate realizes automated mass production, improves the consistency and production efficiency of the atomization component, and reduces the cost.

Description of the drawings

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top view of an atomizing assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the atomization assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment in Figure 2 (c);

Fig. 4 is a top view of the atomization assembly of the second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the atomization assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the invention

In order to have a clearer understanding of the technical features, objectives and effects of the present invention, the specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the atomizing assembly 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention is used for an electronic cigarette, and includes a porous base 11 and a heating element 12 arranged on the porous base 11.

The porous substrate 11 is used to conduct liquid (e-liquid or e-liquid), and may be porous ceramic or foam metal. The porous base 11 may be a polyhedron such as a cube and a rectangular parallelepiped, or a structure such as a cylinder.

The heating element 12 is a sheet-like structure different from the heating wire, and includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. The heating element 12 is arranged on the porous base 11 with its first surface in contact with the porous base 11. Corresponding to the shape of the porous base 11, the heating element 12 may be disposed on at least one surface of the porous base 11.

For example, for a polyhedral porous substrate 11, the heating element 12 is arranged on one or more of its surfaces; for a cylindrical porous substrate 11, the heating element 12 may be arranged in an arc shape corresponding to its outer peripheral shape on part or all of the porous substrate 11. On the peripheral side.

Further, as an option, the heating element 12 may be fixed on the surface of the porous base 11 and protrude on the surface of the porous base 11 as a whole. Alternatively, part or all of the heating element 12 (in the thickness direction) is embedded in the surface of the porous base 11, and the surface of the porous base 11 is provided with a corresponding groove to accommodate the heating element 12.

The heating element 12 is a metal sheet, a metal mesh (mesh structure) or a carbon sheet, so that it can be energized to generate heat. The metal sheet or metal mesh can be made of stainless steel, nickel, titanium, nickel-chromium alloy or aluminum; the carbon sheet is made of carbon material. If the heating element 12 is a carbon sheet, a metal layer may be provided on both ends of the carbon sheet to increase conductivity.

The material, shape and size of the heating element 12 can be selected correspondingly according to the required resistance.

As shown in Fig. 1, in this embodiment, the heating element 12 is a metal sheet. The shape, structure, etc. of the metal sheet are variously arranged, and are not limited to the overall polygonal shape or grooves.

Specifically, in this embodiment, a plurality of strip grooves 13 are provided on the heating element 12 according to the required resistance value, and the ports of two adjacent strip grooves 13 are staggered and located on opposite sides of the heating element 12 respectively. A plurality of strip-shaped grooves 13 are arranged on the heating element 12 at intervals, so that the heating element 12 is formed with a main body part that is bent multiple times by a metal belt 121. The heating element 12 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body portion and two end portions 122 connected to opposite ends of the main body portion.

In other embodiments, the strip-shaped groove may be replaced by a through hole, so that the heating element 12 can obtain a desired resistance value. The shape of the heating element 12 may be various shapes such as a polygon.

Referring to FIG. 2, the manufacturing method of the atomization assembly 10 of this embodiment may include the following steps:

S1. Set the heating element strip 100 on the base body 110, as shown in the side view of Fig. 2(b).

As shown in the top view of Figure 2(a), the heating element strip 100 includes an outer frame 101 and a plurality of heating elements 12 connected in the outer frame 101, between adjacent heating elements 12, the heating elements 12 and the outer frame 101 They are all connected by a connecting strap 102. The plurality of heating elements 12 may be arranged in multiple rows and multiple columns.

Before step S1, the heating element is processed to form the heating element strip 100. According to the selection of the material of the heating element, the heating element strip 100 can be formed by chemical etching, laser cutting, and stamping.

The setting of the heating element strip 100 on the base green body 110 can be achieved by in-mold injection, riveting, or the like. The plurality of heating elements 12 may have the same shape or multiple shapes.

The base body green body 110 may be a ceramic green body (a ceramic body before sintering) or a foamed metal green body (a foamed metal before sintering).

S2. The outer frame 101 and the connecting belt 102 of the heating element strip 100 are removed, so that the plurality of heating elements 12 are independent on the base green body 110.

In one embodiment, as shown in the top view of FIG. 2(c), a plurality of heating elements 12 are arranged uniformly and have the same shape. After subsequent sintering, cutting, etc., a plurality of identical atomization assemblies 10 are formed.

In another embodiment, as shown in the top view of FIG. 3, the plurality of heating elements 12 have different shapes, including polygonal strip grooves, polygonal through holes, polygonal meshes, and side-curved polygonal bandpasses. In various shapes such as holes, a plurality of heating elements 12 of the same shape can be arranged in a row or a row. The heating elements 12 of different shapes are arranged, and after subsequent sintering, cutting, etc., a plurality of different types of atomization components 10 such as resistance values are formed.

S3, sintering to make holes, so that the base body 110 forms a porous body 120.

The sintering temperature is 300°C-1600°C. Alternatively, the heating element 12 can be protected by an inert gas during the sintering process to prevent the heating element 12 from being oxidized at high temperatures (for example, higher than 800° C.). After sintering, the heating element 12 can be tightly composited on the porous body 120, and the pore-forming agent or foaming agent in the green body 110 can be volatilized and removed.

S4. Cut the porous body 120 into a plurality of independent porous substrates 11 corresponding to the heating element 12, and each porous substrate 11 and the heating element 12 on it form an atomizing assembly 10, as shown in Figure 2 (c) and (d) Show.

When cutting, you can follow the cutting line (dotted line) in Figure 2(c). Cutting can be realized by laser cutting, wire cutting and grinding wheel cutting.

After cutting, it also includes cleaning and drying the atomization assembly 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the atomization assembly 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is used in an electronic cigarette, and includes a porous base 21 and a heating element 22 provided on the porous base 21. The porous substrate 21 is a heating element 22 for heating and atomizing the smoke liquid or smoke oil by energizing and heating.

The porous substrate 21 is used for liquid guiding (e-liquid or e-liquid), and may be porous ceramic or foam metal. The porous base 21 may be a polyhedron such as a cube and a rectangular parallelepiped, or a structure such as a cylinder.

The heating element 22 is a sheet-like structure different from the heating wire, and includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. The heating element 22 is arranged on the porous base 21 with its first surface in contact with the porous base 21. Corresponding to the shape of the porous base 21, the heating element 22 may be disposed on at least one surface of the porous base 21.

Alternatively, the heating element 22 may be fixed on the surface of the porous base 21 and protrude on the surface of the porous base 21 as a whole. Alternatively, part or all of the heating element 22 (in the thickness direction) is embedded in the surface of the porous base 21, and the surface of the porous base 21 is provided with a corresponding groove to accommodate the heating element 21.

The heating element 22 is a metal sheet, metal mesh, or carbon sheet, so that it can be energized to generate heat. The metal sheet or metal mesh can be made of stainless steel, nickel, titanium, nickel-chromium alloy or aluminum; the carbon sheet is made of carbon material. If the heating element 22 is a carbon sheet, a metal layer may be provided on both ends of the carbon sheet to increase conductivity.

The material, shape and size of the heating element 22 can be selected correspondingly according to the required resistance.

The difference from the above-mentioned first embodiment is that in this embodiment, a conductor 23 is provided on the heating element 22 for electrical connection with the electronic cigarette power supply device. Specifically, there are two conductors 23, which are arranged on both ends of the heating element 22 at intervals, and are respectively connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the power supply device to achieve conduction.

The conductor 23 may be protrudingly arranged at both ends of the heating element 22, such as a conductive pillar structure; or it may be integrally formed at both ends of the heating element 22.

Referring to FIG. 5, the manufacturing method of the atomization assembly 20 of this embodiment may include the following steps:

S1. Set the heating element strip 200 on the base body green body 210, as shown in the side view of (b) in FIG. 5.

As shown in the top view of Figure 5(a), the heating element tape 200 includes an outer frame 201 and a plurality of heating elements 22 connected in the outer frame 201. Between adjacent heating elements 22, the heating elements 22 and the outer frame 201 They are all connected by connecting strap 202. The plurality of heating elements 22 may be arranged in multiple rows and multiple columns. Each heating element 22 is also provided with a conductor connection point 221 at both ends; the conductor connection point 221 may be a slot.

Before step S1, the heating element is processed to form the heating element strip 200. According to the selection of the material of the heating element, the heating element strip 200 can be formed by chemical etching, laser cutting, and stamping.

The setting of the heating element strip 200 on the base green body 210 can be achieved by in-mold injection, riveting, or the like. The plurality of heating elements 22 may have the same shape or multiple shapes.

The base body green body 210 may be a ceramic green body (a ceramic body before sintering) or a foamed metal green body (a foamed metal before sintering).

S2. The outer frame 201 and the connecting belt 102 of the heating element strip 200 are removed, so that the plurality of heating elements 22 are independent on the base green body 210.

A conductor 23 is provided on each heating element 22, as shown in the side view of FIG. 5(c). Specifically, the conductor 23 is aligned and positioned on the conductor connection point 221 and fixed by welding or the like.

Understandably, the setting of the conductor 23 may be performed before discharging (discharging the outer frame 201 of the heating element tape 200 and the connecting band 102), or may be performed after discharging.

S3. Sintering to make holes, so that the base body green body 210 becomes a porous body.

The sintering temperature is 300°C-1600°C. Alternatively, the heating element 12 can be protected by an inert gas during the sintering process to prevent the heating element 12 from being oxidized at high temperatures (for example, higher than 800° C.). After sintering, the heating element 22 can be tightly composited on the porous body, and the pore-forming agent or foaming agent in the base body 210 can be volatilized and removed.

S4. Cut the porous body into a plurality of independent porous substrates 21 corresponding to the heating element 22, and each porous substrate 21 and the heating element 22 on it form an atomization assembly 20, as shown in Figure 5(d).

Cutting can be realized by laser cutting, wire cutting and grinding wheel cutting.

After cutting, it also includes cleaning and drying the atomization assembly 20.

In summary, the manufacturing method of the atomization assembly of the present invention sets a plurality of heating elements on the base body at a time, and after subsequent sintering and cutting treatments, multiple atomization assemblies are produced at the same time, which has good consistency and improves production efficiency. .

The above are only the embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the content of the description and drawings of the present invention, or directly or indirectly applied to other related technologies In the same way, all fields are included in the scope of patent protection of the present invention.

Claims

An atomization assembly for electronic cigarettes, characterized in that the atomization assembly includes a porous substrate for liquid guiding and a heating element;

The heating element includes a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, and the heating element is arranged on the porous substrate with its first surface in contact with the porous substrate.
The atomization assembly according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is fixed on the surface of the porous substrate; or the heating element is partially or fully embedded in the surface of the porous substrate.
The atomization assembly of claim 1, wherein the porous substrate is porous ceramic or foamed metal.
The atomization assembly according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is a metal sheet or a metal mesh.
The atomization assembly according to claim 4, wherein the metal sheet or metal mesh is made of stainless steel, nickel, titanium, nickel-chromium alloy or aluminum.
The atomization assembly according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is a carbon sheet.
The atomization assembly according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the heating element is provided with a conductor for electrical connection with an electronic cigarette power supply device.
A method for manufacturing an atomization assembly according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

S1. Set the heating element strip with multiple heating elements on the base green body;

The heating element material belt includes an outer frame and heating elements connected in the outer frame at intervals by connecting straps;

S2. Remove the outer frame and the connecting belt of the heating element strip, so that a plurality of the heating elements are independent on the base green body;

S3, sintering to make holes, so that the green base body forms a porous body;

S4. Cut the porous body into a plurality of independent porous substrates corresponding to the heating body, and each of the porous substrates and the heating body on it form an atomization assembly.
The manufacturing method of the atomization assembly according to claim 8, wherein in step S3, the sintering temperature is 300°C to 1600°C.
The manufacturing method of the atomization component according to claim 8, wherein the manufacturing method further comprises the following steps:

Before step S1, process the heating element to form a heating element strip; and/or,

Before step S3, a conductor is provided on each of the heating elements.

To